Insurance regulators move onMedPage Today Share A group of state insurance commissioners finalized a proposal that will play a crucial role in implementing the health care reform law, while lawyers continue to argue over the law's
constitutionality. The NAIC approved a proposed regulation in the reform law dealing with the so-called medical loss ratio, or MLR. The MLR refers to the proportion of an insurer's revenue that is spent on patient care.More

Industry News

Insurance professionals pitch annuities as antidote to market downturnsInvestment News Share After seeing their retirement savings devastated by the financial crisis, Americans may be more open to annuities as a way to ensure an income stream and protect against market downturns, according to an insurance industry leader. "The value proposition has never been easier to explain; it's no longer theoretical, "John R. Strangfeld, chairman and chief executive of Prudential Financial Inc., recently said in a speech at the annual
conference of the Insured Retirement Institute in Chicago. "Americans are looking for certainty — the type of certainty we're providing," Mr. Strangfeld said.More

Roth-to-IRA reversal opens up optionsThe Wall Street Journal Share All year long, advisors have been checking to see if new rules on moving money from traditional IRAs into Roth IRAs fit their clients' needs, and often making the move. Now, in some instances, they are taking advantage of one nice aspect of Roth accounts: They can reverse the decision.
There are a number of reasons why, after shifting assets to a Roth, someone would want
to reverse that conversion through a tax-filing process called recharacterization. More

Analysts watching how insurers handle low interest rates, pricingReuters via Insurance Journal Share Insurers are under growing pressure from two fronts, each of which promises to be a key focus in earnings reports the next two weeks — depressed interest rates that could dampen investment income in coming years and tight markets that have put a lid on pricing power. Analysts will be watching closely to see how the industry's top insurers handle both problems, either of which could be enough to constrain earnings in coming
quarters.More

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Regulatory and Legislative News

Dodd-Frank: SEC drafts swaps proposalThe National Underwriter Share The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has posted a proposed rule that could shape swaps governance systems. The SEC is writing major new swaps market regulations to implement the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Financial Protection Act, which defines the term "swap" and will require large financial institutions to conduct many swaps trades through clearinghouses, exchanges or other entities.More

Practice Management

The top 10 trends in wealth managementAdvisor One Share Wealth managers are examining all kinds of issues as they continue to push for growth while markets and the economy stabilize. We hear a lot about advisors' issues and concerns, and thought a list of
what's buzzing around the wealth management industry would be useful. More

Be happy with what you've gotAdvisor.ca Share The perverse thing about living in a society that's obsessed with keeping up with the Joneses is people are seldom satisfied. Fulfillment in life can come from any number of activities or pursuits. Many of them relate back to things that money can't buy. For better or worse, many people value those things that represent demonstrable wealth and/or conspicuous consumption. It seems the ethos of wanting what you have is fading
quickly.More

How to rev up revenue by systematizing your practiceFinancial Planning Share Craig Snyder, whose firm America Group Retirement Strategy Centers in Southfield, Mich., consists of 52 advisors managing a total $1 billion in assets, is LPL's sixth largest—and growing. It got that way, Snyder said, via a simple yet rigorous practice-management technique he's simplified over the past six years that any advisor can easily adopt. "Advisors need systems in order to accomplish their goals, whether you're a
large firm or a one-man team," Snyder said. "You need to track your activity so you can see what else you need to do to maximize your return on investment."More

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2010 ABEA winners announced at FSP ForumSociety of FSP Share Eat 'n Park Hospitality Group of Pittsburgh, Penn., Merrick & Company of Aurora, Colo. and Integrated Project Management Company of Burr Ridge, Ill., were named the 2010 American Business Ethics
Award winners at the 2010 FSP Forum in Orlando, Fla. Learn more about the ABEA program at ABEA.

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